//------------------------------// // A Ride, A Wash, A Sleep // Story: A Change in the Wind // by Silent Whisper //------------------------------// The train back to San Fransiscolt was packed full of tired businessponies by the time Misty and Ghost reached the station. They had to push and shove between ponies waving goodbye to their loved ones to get into a car, but made it just before the doors closed. Inside, it smelled of juniper, sweat, and ash, the mingling fragrances of exhausted ponies and their faded cologne. Ghost didn’t mind one bit, though. She had Misty back, so everything was perfect. For all she cared, the whole world could be burning down, and she wouldn’t bat an eye. Her best friend was by her side, and everything was going great. So she scooted a bit closer to Misty. She was slightly startled when Misty put a hoof around her and held her close, but she really couldn’t complain. Maybe Misty just wanted to keep warm? Yeah, that must be it, her not being warm-blooded and all. Ghost didn’t notice the first drop that fell on her fur, and the second one she mentally passed off as somepony drinking something cold and dripping condensation on her, but the third one made her look up. It was Misty. She was crying, but she didn’t look too sad. “You okay?” murmured Ghost, wrapping a hoof around Misty back, holding her close. Misty clung to her as though her life depended on it and let out a dramatic sniffle. “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. I’m just so happy to see ya, Ghostie. I didn’t think you’d come back for me, you know?” Ghost smiled, letting her hooves wrap around Misty’s back. “Hey, that’s what friends are for, right?” She debated trying to wipe away Misty’s tears, but that might end up poking her in the eye. Instead, she settled for simply rubbing Misty’s back, watching the world blur by through the windows of the train. The sun was setting over the Everfree forest, the trees reaching up towards the sky. The branches looked as though they were dipped in golden light. Slowly, the orange creeped down the clouds, fading to pink, purple, and then deep blue. The first stars had flickered to life by the time Misty’s grip relaxed. Together, they watched the moonrise as the train clacked on towards home. “So you just rushed out to get me, and left everything out?” chuckled Misty as they staggered into Ghost’s apartment. The barest flicker of dawn peeked through the window, casting a long shadow from the tipped-over cactus Ghost had hastily left behind. A hazy scent lingered in the apartment, one of musty tea and dusty mugs. “Yup,” mumbled Ghost blearily, surveying the chaos she’d left in her wake. At least the bed was cleared off. More or less. It could fit both of them if they really squished together, but the smell of the room left much to be desired. “Ghostie?” purred the changeling, examining a dried stain on the sink. “Yes?” Ghost perked up from where she was straightening the poor cactus. Misty gave her a devilish smirk, turning on the sink with a flourish. “You’re a mess when you miss me.” Ghost laughed and tossed a rag at her. Misty snatched it from the air and started scrubbing the counter, her tongue poking out in concentration. The unicorn grinned. It had felt like forever, Misty being gone. Perhaps the calendar didn’t agree with her perception of time, but that didn’t matter. Misty was back. That was all that mattered. That, and perhaps the state of the apartment. Ghost liked to keep it decently livable at the minimum. She opened the window and set about dusting the room. Misty deserved to stay in - no, visit, she corrected herself. Visit, for hopefully a long period of time. As long as she wanted, in fact. Regardless, Misty deserved to live in a room that was clean and spacious and not the mess Ghost usually kept it in. Which meant she may have to get more bookshelves, eventually, since not every pony enjoyed tripping over stacks of books in the middle of the night when trying to find the restroom. “So, they caught the wrong changeling, huh?” she said, while attempting to clear the air with her magic. Misty shrugged, grabbing a mug that had been sitting there for Celestia knew how long. “Yeah, it’s great. Not as great as seeing you come find me, but it’s still good news. Why?” “I was just thinking, maybe I could take a vacation from work, sometime? Just a few days, or something, but I could try to help you find the renegade spy. I do want to help, and since you got another chance at this and everything…” The unicorn trailed off, and picked up a book to fiddle with. The Complete Compendium of Yarn twirled between her hooves. Misty set the mug down and trotted over to where Ghost fidgeted. Gently, she put a hoof over Ghost’s. “Sure, if that’s what you want, Ghostie-boo, but I don’t want to just work. We got this second chance, yeah, but I wanna help you out with your life, too.” “But-” Misty’s hoof wrapped around the book and tenderly set it back in the stack. “No buts. This isn’t just a second chance to catch some spy bug, this is a second chance for us to be together.” The changeling bit her lip, her hoof pausing before gently grasping Ghost’s. “Not… not together-together, but, you know. Hang out, figure out how to make your life slightly less lonely and depressing.” Ghost chuckled, but something about the earnestness in Misty’s eyes made her hesitate. “I’m not that lonely, you know,” she muttered, turning to flop onto the slightly-cleared-off nest of pillows and blankets. “I’ve got friends.” “Books don’t count as friends!” chirped Misty, before leaping onto the pillow heap, partially on top of Ghost. “I mean real ones. Tomorrow, or today, or whatever day comes next when the sun’s already up, we’ll see about finding you a million friends to cheer you up.” Ghost smiled slightly, shifting a bit under the changeling until she was a bit more comfortable. It honestly wasn’t that bad, being used as a pillow. It wasn’t like there was much other space on the floor, anyways. It was just one night. She yawned and snuggled a bit closer to the changeling. To keep her warm, of course. Changlings don’t like to be cold. “I’d like that. Though I do have friends. I have you, don’t I?” she murmured, relaxing next to Misty. As she drifted into dreamland, Ghost could have sworn she heard Misty whisper “For as long as you want, forever.”